The Christmas Pageant
by seditionary
Summary: JJ and Will are separated. Not wanting to go alone, she invites Reid to accompany her to Henry's pre-school Christmas pageant. He knows it's not a date, but he can't help wishing it was... Written for the CCOAC Christmas Exchange Challenge.


**A/N: Here's my Christmas Exchange Fic:  
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**Assigned pairing is: JJ/Reid**

**Assigned song title prompt and 3 prompts are: Silent Night, candy canes,**

**snow, hot cocoa**

**Written for: SQ215**

**Hope you like it!**

**-Seds  
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* * *

><p>Spencer Reid stood at JJ's closed office door, his hand raised to knock. He could hear her inside, speaking in an emphatic tone, so he paused a moment; before he could decide whether to leave or to go ahead and announce himself, the door opened and JJ almost ran smack into him. He noticed that her eyes were a bit red, and that she had a tissue in her hand. She started back in surprise, then, embarrassed, laughed slightly. "Oh, hey, Spence-sorry, I was just heading to the break room for some coffee. What did you need?"<p>

"Um... I wanted to talk with you a moment, if you have time." He searched her face, but she had already recovered her composure. She nodded, then went back into the room and gestured at a chair.

"Sure-come in." They both took a seat, and JJ gave Reid a smile; he thought it looked a little forced. He paused, then asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine. What's up?" She threw the tissue away then settled more comfortably into her chair, and Reid cleared his throat.

"Well, I was just... It's been bothering me, the way things have been between us. I don't like it. I know I wasn't very understanding about your role in the whole Prentiss thing, and I'm sorry for that. I mean, I was extremely upset, but after doing some hard analysis of the situation, I realized-you were simply following procedures as you'd been trained to do. I still wish you'd said something, but... Anyway, I wanted you to know, I've managed to work through it all, and I don't have any hard feelings. I hope you don't, either. I... I hope we can go back to being friends." He watched her face; he was happy to see a look of relief come over her.

"Oh, wow. Of course. I know it was a huge shock, and I really hope you believe me when I say how sorry I am for the way things went. I did want to tell you Emily was alive, but, under the circumstances, I just couldn't."

"I know." Reid chewed his lip for a moment, then added, "So, we're okay?"

"Yes, absolutely." JJ picked up a colorful piece of paper from her desk, then handed it to Spencer. "In fact, I was just planning to make an overture to you on behalf of your godson-Henry wanted me to invite you to his preschool Christmas pageant this Friday night. He's going to be a shepherd. I'm sorry for the short notice, but-well, anyway, he really hopes you can come, and so do I."

Reid read the invitation, and grinned. "This sounds like fun. Sure, I'll be there."

"Great! I'm having a little get-together afterwards at my place, if you'd like to come to that, too. Just cookies and hot cocoa for the kids, but the adults may be slipping a little peppermint schnapps into theirs. It's been a long week."

Reid laughed. "Interesting combination-it sounds wonderful."

"Good. Listen, come to my place at six, and we'll ride over together, okay?"

"Okay."

"All right. I'm looking forward to it."

"Me, too." Reid looked up. "It's been a while since I've seen Will, it'll be nice to see him again."

JJ's face clouded, and she hesitated before responding. "Actually, he won't be there."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. We've been... having some problems lately. Well-for a long time, to be honest. I asked him to give me some space, so he's gone to New Orleans for a while."

Reid frowned. "A while? What does that mean, if you don't mind my asking?"

JJ stared down at her hands. "I'm not sure, to tell you the truth." She shrugged, then looked up to meet Reid's concerned expression. "I'm not sure about a lot of things, right now. I'm working on figuring it all out." She felt tears prick at her eyes again, and she hastily stood up and headed to the door, hoping Reid hadn't noticed. "Well, I really need that cup of coffee, so-I'll talk to you later, okay?"

It was a failed effort-Reid saw her face contort with the effort of holding her emotions in check. He stood up and went to the door as well. Before walking out, he put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be all right, JJ. You're a great person, and a wonderful mom. You'll make the right decision."

JJ looked up at him. The kindness in his eyes got to her; the touch of his hand was warm and strong, and his voice was so gentle, it was like a caress. Her lip trembled and she nodded. "Thanks," she whispered. "It's nice to hear that _someone_ has faith in me." She forced a smile, and Reid patted her awkwardly, then slipped by her and into the hall.

He wished he knew what he could do to help her.

* * *

><p>Friday night, Reid left the BAU and stopped at his apartment to change before heading off to meet JJ for the Christmas pageant. He put on casual clothes, but topped them off with a tailored black blazer that he hoped made him look somewhat sophisticated.<p>

He kept fighting down a feeling of excitement.

"This isn't a date, idiot." He stared at himself in the mirror. As much as the BAU team tried to keep in mind the rule about not profiling each other, Reid had spent way too much time at JJ's home prior to Prentiss' return not to have noticed that things weren't exactly blissful in the Jareau-LaMontagne household. Having her confirm the situation got him to thinking thoughts that were not only inappropriate, but useless. "She'd never go for you, even if Will truly _was _out of the picture," he told himself. "You're her son's godfather, that's all. So, stop it."

Even so, he left the house with a little more of a sense of anticipation than a child's Christmas pageant normally would have warranted.

As he drove, a light smattering of snow began to fall.

* * *

><p>"Henry, where is your shepherd's crook?"<p>

"Dunno, Mommy." The small blond boy looked up at his mother, his eyes wide with the innocence of forgotten naughtiness. JJ stared at him, visions of futilely searching the house crowding into her mind.

"Oh, God, you haven't been using it to play Star Wars again, have you?" JJ had caught Henry using the crook as a light saber on more than one occasion. Henry shrugged, and JJ muttered under her breath, _"Damn it, Uncle Spencer," _but she managed to smile at her son's worried look. "I bet I know where it is. You stay here, okay?"

JJ ran out onto the patio and sure enough, the wooden crook was on the ground, almost entirely covered with snow. It was a good thing she'd discovered it then, as after only a few more minutes, it might have lain there, camouflaged, until spring. She picked it up, dusted the ice crystals off of it, and returned to the living room.

She entered to the sound of the doorbell ringing. JJ cast a look at her tiny shepherd, handed him the prop which completed his costume, then hurried to the door and checked the peephole. Dr. Reid was standing there, waiting patiently. Snow was falling on his dark wool overcoat, and as she opened the door, JJ couldn't help but note that it added a dashing air to his tall, lanky frame. JJ quickly let him in, laughing as he brushed himself off and stomped his feet on the entry mat.

"You're doing a pretty good impersonation of Frosty the Snowman. You just need a top hat and a broom."

"I feel like Frosty, I must say. The temperature dropped twenty degrees from the time I left my house until I got here."

"Hey, that's a good point." She saw Henry disappearing down the hall and said, "Henry, go find your heavy coat."

"Shepherds don't wear coats, Mommy."

"They do when it's snowing, star shine. Go."

Henry ran to his room for the coat, and JJ turned to Reid. "I'm really glad you're coming with us tonight. This is his first school performance-it'll be nice to have someone there to share it with." JJ's smile was open and sincere, but Reid could hear the hurt under it. He nodded.

"It's too bad your folks live so far from here, I'm sure they'd love to be able to go, too."

"Oh, gosh, I'm glad you said that-I almost forgot the video camera." JJ zipped off to her bedroom and came back with a black camera bag slung over her shoulder. She looked around for her son, then called loudly, "Okay, Henry, let's go, we're going to be late!" She gave Reid a look of comical exasperation. "I bet he got distracted by his dinosaurs. Thanks for those, by the way. He named the T-Rex Spencer, you know."

Reid chortled. "Really? That's great, I love that." He shook his head in amusement, then Henry came tearing into the room.

"Looka me, Uncle 'Pencer! I'm a shepherd!"

"I see that, and an excellent shepherd you are. I can almost hear the sheep bleating."

"Don't talk about sheep, please. Sore subject." JJ went to usher her son out the door. Reid followed, sporting a puzzled expression.

"Seriously? Sheep are a sore subject for a three-year-old?"

JJ finished buckling Henry into his car seat, then nodded as she shut the door. "Henry really wanted to play a sheep because of the cool costume and not having to remember any lines other than 'baa', but apparently, he was the only one they could trust to actually pay attention to the teacher's stage cues, so he got promoted to shepherd. That was not a good day."

"Oh, wow." Reid had given very little thought to the sheep vs. shepherd issues which were no doubt rife among pre-school play discussions, but the magnitude of it was beginning to dawn upon him. "You know, I could never be a parent. I'm not smart enough." He slid into the passenger seat and JJ laughed as she revved up the engine.

"No one is, believe me. It's like the world's most complex video game, and there are no cheat codes."

"Mm." Reid tried to be subtle as he snuck a glance at JJ's face. The cold had her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she was wearing a knit cap that made her look like a little kid. He faced forward, hiding his smile, and thrust his hands into the pockets of his coat. They chatted amiably until they got to Henry's school, then Reid helped JJ collect Henry and his things and they made their way to the bustling backstage area.

* * *

><p>The pre-school play turned out to be adorable. Reid had never had an occasion to attend one previously, and he was amazed at how just a few teachers and helpful parents were able to marshal a whole herd of excited three-to-five-year-olds into a fairly cohesive unit, give or take a few wandering sheep and a giggling baby Jesus.<p>

He and JJ found seats near the front of the stage, and they exchanged proud glances when Henry's bit came up. The shepherd had to express fear when the angel of the Lord came up and pointed to a large foil-covered star that abruptly dropped down behind them, and he did well, even managing to say "Who are you?" to the angel with proper dramatic flair.

The play progressed with only a few minor mishaps, including the Virgin Mary tripping over a seated sheep and bashing into the manger, and one of the wise men bursting into tears when it was his turn to speak his line and he forgot the word "frankincense."

But, it all got pulled together in the final act. The entire cast gathered around the Christ child, looked up at the star, and sang, "Silent Night." Then, the backstage crew came out to join them, and everyone said, "Merry Christmas!" The audience provided a thunderous round of applause, and everything turned to chaos as children ran to proud parents, and everyone stood and began milling about.

Reid watched as Henry roared up and JJ scooped him up into her arms.

"You were fantastic, buddy! You did a great job!"

"Thanks, Mommy! Can we go home, now?" The shepherd had lapsed into whiney-mode and he lay his head on JJ's shoulder as if exhausted. JJ ruffled his hair.

"In just a minute-I want to say hello to your teacher. Spence, would you mind keeping an eye on him while I remind everyone how to get to my house?" She set Henry on his feet and looked at her friend.

"Sure. I'll watch him." Reid stared down at the small person that barely came up past his knee. Henry stared up at the tall person that towered above him. Just then, a giggling little girl-she was the one who'd played Mary, and Reid had gathered her name was Ava-came up, tagged Henry, and skittered off, and Henry immediately zipped off in pursuit. "Henry! Wait! I'm supposed to..." Reid was left talking to himself, but gamely finished with "...keep an eye on you." He strode off to maintain a field of vision with his charge, and several minutes later, JJ returned to his side.

"Okay, let's go. People will start showing up for the after-party in just a bit. Where's Henry?"

"Over there with that little girl. I've been studying them. The male subject appears to be engaged in a futile attempt to elude the female aggressor. I believe it to be some sort of bizarre early childhood social convention, presaging the eventual development of the more typical male-as-pursuer mating ritual, common to the post-pubescent years."

JJ gave him a puzzled sneer, folded her arms and watched for a moment. "They're playing tag," she said dryly.

"Ah. Well, my hypothesis stands."

JJ checked to see if Reid was being serious, and, to her relief, the twinkle in his eye told her that he was not. They stood looking at each other for a moment, then they both broke into laughter. They didn't notice when Henry (with Ava on his heels) ran back to crash into JJ's legs. She almost fell over, but Reid managed to grab her, only to have the little girl run into him from behind, causing his knees to buckle, and for a brief moment, all three were in a sort of dog pile on top of one another.

Once they got sorted out and Ava's mother came to collect her, the trio headed out to JJ's car. It was darn cold by now, the wind had picked up and fat snowflakes were falling on their faces. They quickly piled into the car, and JJ drove carefully through the dark, icy streets back to the light and welcoming warmth of her house.

* * *

><p>"Spence, could you put on another kettle of water? I think we're about to run out."<p>

Reid had been busy handing out candy canes to a flock of tiny humans, some of whom were still in varying stages of costume. The noise level had risen to a dull roar, and he didn't mind having an excuse to disentangle himself from the throng. He headed back to the kitchen and set about his assigned task. After a few minutes, JJ joined him. She put a hot cup of cocoa into his hand, took one of the candy canes and stirred it. She waited expectantly while he took a sip. The sharp bite of alcohol struck his tongue, along with the sweet of the chocolate/peppermint combination. He savored it for a moment, then laughed.

"This is amazing. How have I gone through so many Christmas celebrations without discovering this?"

"It's definitely a must when you're in a house full of pre-schoolers and stage parents. Come on, Reid, don't you have any genius tricks for making water boil faster? I'm ready for a second cup."

"I think this is the only one I have." Reid turned the burner up full force and grinned. JJ nodded resignedly, and they stood together in the relative calm of the kitchen until the kettle whistled.

Reid opened a pack of cocoa mix and put it in JJ's cup, then poured the water over it. She took the schnapps and doctored the drink; Reid used his candy cane to stir it for her. She raised it to her lips and blew cooling air softly over the heat; Reid found himself looking into her blue eyes and wondering what it would be like to kiss her.

"JJ, there's been a spill!" One of the other moms came scurrying into the kitchen in search of paper towels, and JJ hastened to help her. Reid watched her disappear down the hall and sighed. He should go, he decided. He was glad things were now smoothed over between him and JJ, but he needed to pull back now, before he fell into some stupid school-boy reverie over something-or, rather, someone-he couldn't have.

He went to find his coat, but as he came out of the spare bedroom, he ran into JJ in the hall.

"Hey-where do you think you're going?" she asked, seeing his coat thrown over his arm.

"I should be getting home. You've got a lot of people to visit with, and everything seems to be under control, so..."

"No way! I was hoping-" JJ caught herself. She'd been unconsciously counting on Spencer to stay until everyone had gone, to be there in those first silent moments after Henry had settled into bed and she was left alone with her thoughts. She hated that time, when there was nothing left to do but clean up, and no one left to speak to but echoes.

But, Spencer-God, how stupid was she? Spencer had no obligation to hang around to keep her company. He probably wanted to get his drive home out of the way, to get into bed and go to sleep after an exhausting week. She smiled and amended her statement.

"I was hoping you wouldn't run off just yet, but I understand if you want to go on home, with the weather getting so bad and everything."

Reid clutched his coat a little closer to himself, trying to read his hostess's expression. "I don't mind staying. I could help you clean up, if you like."

JJ's neutral expression faded and suddenly, she looked genuinely happy. "Really? You don't mind?"

Reid shook his head. "No, not at all. I'll put my coat away."

"Great!" She squeezed his arm, and went back to the group in the living room.

* * *

><p>The party didn't last much longer. Parents were eager to get home and put their semi-hysterical, sugar-fueled little ones to bed. JJ stood by the door, saying her goodbyes, and Reid went around collecting dirty cups and paper plates with half-eaten cookies and sticky candy canes on them. Once everyone was gone, JJ said, "Henry, bedtime. Let's go get ready."<p>

The little boy made a half-hearted protest, but followed his mother down the hallway.

Reid dealt with the trash, and started the dishwasher. He wiped down the counters, washed his hands, then went to sit in the living room. He could hear water running, and later, soft voices-JJ's and Henry's, in turn-wafting down the hall. He walked to the boy's room and positioned himself against the doorframe to listen as JJ read her son a story.

Reid smiled when she hugged Henry goodnight. She tucked him in, then stood and went to stand beside her guest. The room was quiet as Henry's eyes closed and he nestled under the covers. In only a few moments, all that could be heard was the sound of the boy's even breathing. JJ looked at Reid, put one finger to her lips, then she clicked off the light, and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. The two then returned to the living room.

"Well, this has been quite an evening," Reid said. "Is it always this hectic?"

"This has been a bit above and beyond the norm, but... not by much." They stood there, awkwardly looking at the floor, then JJ said, "Would you like to stay awhile, and see what's on TV? I'd say we could chat, but my brain's pretty fried and I don't think I could make coherent conversation."

"Sure, I'll stay for a little while."

They went to sit down and JJ flicked on the television. They channel surfed, with Reid offering in-depth commentary on whatever topic came up, which left JJ shaking her head, impressed and amused at her friend's vast knowledge beyond the range of BAU-related subjects. She gave him an affectionate grin and asked, "Hey-how about we shut this thing off and just talk?"

"All right." He looked at her sheepishly. "I know I can be annoying when I go off on random subjects like that."

"No, it's not that. I just think I'd rather have a little peace and quiet right now. So, what did you think of the play?" They chatted enthusiastically for a while, but eventually, JJ noticed that Reid had grown strangely quiet.

She fixed a curious stare on him. "Something wrong?"

Reid stammered, "N-no, it's just that... I think I should go."

"Why? Did I say something to upset you, or-"

"No, no, not at all. I just... Look, I want you to know that if you ever want to talk, any time, day or night-call me. I'll be there. But... right now? It just feels weird, being here without Will in the house. I mean-things aren't settled between the two of you, and-I'm sorry, but-" He looked at her and she could see a regretful, but worried, look in his eyes that struck her right in her heart. She put a hand on his.

"No, it's okay. I understand. You're a good guy, Spence. Thank you."

Reid nodded in resignation. _That's me, a good guy. Great. _"Okay. Well, I'll get my stuff." He left, and came back to stand by the door and slip on his overcoat. JJ went to join him. He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, where the snow was still coming down in little flurries. JJ wrapped her arms around herself and looked past him, up into the dark winter sky, then back at his face. He was regarding her with a wistful smile, and something about the sweetness of it made her want to cry. Instead, she reached for him.

"Um-thanks so much for everything you did tonight. It meant a lot to me." She stood on tiptoe and he bent slightly and she kissed his cheek. Reid's smile deepened.

"It was a lot of fun, actually. Henry's amazing."

"Yeah. He's the one thing I'll always be grateful to Will for." A rueful smile crossed her face, and the wind swirled up and blew her hair around her face. Reid hesitantly reached out to smooth a strand behind her ear. She turned her cheek into the warmth of his hand and placed her own over it. They stood there for a long moment, listening to the silence of the snow-filled night. Then, Reid sighed and stepped back.

"Well, good night, JJ. I'll see you next week."

"Good night, Spencer. Thanks again."

Reid turned and started down the walkway. Then, over a gust of wind whipping past his ears he heard, "Hey, Spence? Wait a minute-" He turned to see JJ running to him. She grabbed his hand and pressed a candy cane into it. "One for the road, okay?"

He nodded. "Okay." He held it up in a farewell gesture, then went to his car, got in and pulled away. He put the candy cane in his visor where he would see it every time he got into his car.

It wasn't much. Just a cheery piece of Christmas candy that a beautiful woman had pressed into his hand. Just a little reminder of the season, and of a wonderful night spent with two special people, of noise and confusion and snowy streets-and a few precious moments of perfect silence.

-The End-


End file.
